Is Notre Dame screwing up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:18 Notre Dame faculty went to Coney Barrett’s “off campus party” and are now awaiting testing.

OK - you were so excited to report that - now 6 days later you still haven't reported the results with the same breathlessness that you reported the testing.

Why is that about you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:18 Notre Dame faculty went to Coney Barrett’s “off campus party” and are now awaiting testing.

OK - you were so excited to report that - now 6 days later you still haven't reported the results with the same breathlessness that you reported the testing.

Why is that about you?

Thanks for reminding me. I've been busy with my life. This might be of interest to you:

https://www-chronicle-com.proxygw.wrlc.org/article/the-moral-failure-of-father-john-jenkins
The White House Rose Garden may seem an odd place to illustrate the vacuum of moral leadership in higher education in this troubled year of 2020. But a September 26 gathering of college presidents and faculty, religious leaders, and public officials celebrating the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court devolved into a cautionary tale of bad judgment and leadership failure all around, and especially for the attending academics.

Bad enough that the maskless University of Notre Dame president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, and at least 10 other attendees are now quarantined with Covid-19. It does not diminish our fervent hopes for their speedy and complete recovery to ask what in heaven’s name so many presumably smart people thought they were doing at the White House that afternoon as they crowded together without masks in defiance of public-health regulations, both on the lawn and indoors at a reception. Photos and videos of the event show lots of handshakes, hugs, and even, unbelievably, kisses — as if the participants all had amnesia about the months of grief and deprivation in the face of the homicidal microbes that have killed more than 210,000
Americans and sickened millions.

[Anonymous]

More from the Chronicle of Higher Ed piece (which is behind a paywall):
While waiting for the ceremony to begin, did any of the academics present take a moment in those friendly tête-à-têtes with senior administration officials to whisper a contrary thought about these policies and practices? To sit maskless and silent in the face of this administration’s record is to give tacit approval to its worst offenses against human dignity. So far in this weirdly unspooling political moment, the risk of speaking out is still only the risk of not getting another invitation to the Rose Garden. Face time with the powerful is not the goal; speaking truth to power should be.

The legendary late Notre Dame leader Father Ted Hesburgh wrote on being a university president that, “The greatest gift a president can give his students is the example of his life.” We presidents receive many glamorous invitations that might seduce us into complicity with powerful hosts whom we must challenge. We must never forget that our ultimate stewardship is not to our hosts or donors or social circles, but rather, to our students because they are the ones who carry the true mission of the university into the world for the benefit of future generations. Our first and last obligation is simply this: to teach our students well by the force of our example.
The author of the piece is Patricia McGuire, President of Trinity Washington University.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:18 Notre Dame faculty went to Coney Barrett’s “off campus party” and are now awaiting testing.

OK - you were so excited to report that - now 6 days later you still haven't reported the results with the same breathlessness that you reported the testing.

Why is that about you?

NP: Wait, what?!?? You think the president and 18 faculty-- traveling to a public even and then not wearing masks nor socially distancing--when they have been stressing how essential and MORAL it is for students to do so (and punishing students who break the rules) is not the problem in itself?? The issue is not that they end up positive or not (I hope they don't/didn't!) but rather that it was wildly inappropriate and a failure of leadership. I'm curious if there's an accounting of whether any of the faculty kept their masks on in the event. They failed to be a model and they failed to consider their responsibility to their campus community. It doesn't matter if it shows up as a little gold line on their "dashboard" it's already damaged their reputation.

[Anonymous]

But Chris Christie attended and he is still in the hospital today. 6 days now in the hospital.

[Anonymous]

Boy, I bet Notre Dame moms and dads just can't wait to welcome junior home with open arms at Thanksgiving.

NYT: Trading Blame and Worry, Notre Dame Grapples With Celebration’s Fallout

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/notre-dame-fans-clemson.html?referringSource=articleShare

As soon as the final whistle blew, signaling that last-gasp laterals would not prevent the Notre Dame football team from its biggest win in a generation — a 47-40 double-overtime defeat of top-ranked Clemson on Saturday night — a can’t-look-away scene unfolded at Notre Dame Stadium.

Thousands of students leapt over brick walls, dashed past overwhelmed security guards and stormed the field, gleefully mobbing the Notre Dame players and one another. They reveled for more than 15 minutes, ignoring announcements to retreat.

In normal times, a scene like this is a rite of college football. But these are not normal times.

[...]

Mark Fox, the county’s deputy health director, who since August has advised the university’s approach to the pandemic, watched students pour over the wall from a perch near the top of the stadium. He could not recall any public-address warnings until after they were on the field.

“I was sick to my stomach,” Fox said. “I felt really ineffective as a public health person. I felt like I was wringing my hands and asking the woulda, shoulda, coulda questions, and that’s an uncomfortable place to be.”

He added: “If you’re confident going in and anticipating a win, this should have been part of the anticipation package. We talked about how the messaging could have been better. Having riot police might have been the only thing we could have done to keep them off the field. In hindsight, is there anything that could have been or should have been done? Yeah, probably so.”

[...]

Eileen Hunt Botting, a Notre Dame political science professor, said the university had lost its moral compass in recent weeks. She said that with cases surging, extensive restrictions and the recent death of two freshmen in a car accident, football was held out as a carrot to a reeling student body. That students rushed the field should have surprised no one.

“I find this so ethically troubling,” Hunt Botting said. “Notre Dame set the students up exactly for what they’re not supposed to do. Father Jenkins is clearly complicit in setting our students up for failure.”

How the virus might have spread on Saturday night will be unclear for days or weeks. Fox, the public health official, said it might be difficult to trace new cases to the crush of students. He was somewhat heartened that many wore masks as they poured onto the field.

“But a mask alone in that situation doesn’t offer a lot of protection,” he said. “I’ve got to assume there were 5,000 or 6,000 kids on the field, and even though there were some pretty remarkable efforts to limit the number of students who were positive, I’ve got to assume there are some. Because of the shouting and hugging and the close proximity, there will be other infections stemming from that.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boy, I bet Notre Dame moms and dads just can't wait to welcome junior home with open arms at Thanksgiving.

NYT: Trading Blame and Worry, Notre Dame Grapples With Celebration’s Fallout

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/notre-dame-fans-clemson.html?referringSource=articleShare

As soon as the final whistle blew, signaling that last-gasp laterals would not prevent the Notre Dame football team from its biggest win in a generation — a 47-40 double-overtime defeat of top-ranked Clemson on Saturday night — a can’t-look-away scene unfolded at Notre Dame Stadium.

Thousands of students leapt over brick walls, dashed past overwhelmed security guards and stormed the field, gleefully mobbing the Notre Dame players and one another. They reveled for more than 15 minutes, ignoring announcements to retreat.

In normal times, a scene like this is a rite of college football. But these are not normal times.

[...]

Mark Fox, the county’s deputy health director, who since August has advised the university’s approach to the pandemic, watched students pour over the wall from a perch near the top of the stadium. He could not recall any public-address warnings until after they were on the field.

“I was sick to my stomach,” Fox said. “I felt really ineffective as a public health person. I felt like I was wringing my hands and asking the woulda, shoulda, coulda questions, and that’s an uncomfortable place to be.”

He added: “If you’re confident going in and anticipating a win, this should have been part of the anticipation package. We talked about how the messaging could have been better. Having riot police might have been the only thing we could have done to keep them off the field. In hindsight, is there anything that could have been or should have been done? Yeah, probably so.”

[...]

Eileen Hunt Botting, a Notre Dame political science professor, said the university had lost its moral compass in recent weeks. She said that with cases surging, extensive restrictions and the recent death of two freshmen in a car accident, football was held out as a carrot to a reeling student body. That students rushed the field should have surprised no one.

“I find this so ethically troubling,” Hunt Botting said. “Notre Dame set the students up exactly for what they’re not supposed to do. Father Jenkins is clearly complicit in setting our students up for failure.”

How the virus might have spread on Saturday night will be unclear for days or weeks. Fox, the public health official, said it might be difficult to trace new cases to the crush of students. He was somewhat heartened that many wore masks as they poured onto the field.

“But a mask alone in that situation doesn’t offer a lot of protection,” he said. “I’ve got to assume there were 5,000 or 6,000 kids on the field, and even though there were some pretty remarkable efforts to limit the number of students who were positive, I’ve got to assume there are some. Because of the shouting and hugging and the close proximity, there will be other infections stemming from that.”

[Anonymous]

That’s horribly selfish behavior ^^. Thanks for posting

[Anonymous]

I'm so confused. Based on other posts, I thought only southern schools were having issues with students not acting responsibly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm so confused. Based on other posts, I thought only southern schools were having issues with students not acting responsibly.

So true. Strange...

[Anonymous]

I think these kids have been under so much pressure, they deserved this moment. Good for them. I'd much rather my kid have a real college experience than sitting in bed on the computer doing virtual classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think these kids have been under so much pressure, they deserved this moment. Good for them. I'd much rather my kid have a real college experience than sitting in bed on the computer doing virtual classes.

This 100%

[Anonymous]

This is 100% on the ND administration. Anyone with any sort of brain could have anticipated this. A double overtime win against the #1 team in the country is absolutely going to result in the kids storming the field and a raucous celebration. Any public health protocol that relies on a bunch of 19 year olds to decide on their own to do the right thing in that situation is doomed to fail.

There should have been ALL SORTS of reminders and guidelines before the games. They shouldn't have let the students move from their assigned sections of the stadium. They probably should have limited attendance to juniors and seniors and had watch parties in the soccer and baseball stadiums (or somewhere) for the underclassman and grad students.
There are all sorts of things the administration should have done *in advance* to prevent this.

It's horribly unfair to the kids to blame them for their in-the-moment response.
- An ND grad who stormed the field a few times in my day, and wouldn't trade that memory for anything... except for literal lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think these kids have been under so much pressure, they deserved this moment. Good for them. I'd much rather my kid have a real college experience than sitting in bed on the computer doing virtual classes.

this is a very strange response to what appears to be a solid report from the New York Times about “thousands” of ND students storming the field. Whether it is the students’ fault ( where are the posters who always argue that college students are “ adults” of the administration’s fault, this should not have happened during a pandemic. Period. You’ve got to be Notre Dane mom, and that is not a compliment.

[Anonymous]

They're in the lowest risk group and they've all been continually tested for months. Honestly, nobody's going to get COVID from storming a football field with a bunch of other kids.